Car construction



- May 31, 1932. J. F. OCONNOR CAR CONSTRUCTION Filed May 29, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l k w \w W m 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 29.- 1929 Patented s May 31, 1932 Us sz'r y i g ionn rvozcounonion cnrceeo, rumors,- nssreauon .ro w.

ILLmoIslAE conronnrrou ou-DELA ARE 'cAn rconsrlwcrrou Application filed May 29;

Tliisinventicn: relates to improvements in car construction; and more particularly to can suspension.

@ne ob ect ofthecinventlonis to provide a i can iconstructionn whereinrthe: body of the car is .cushinned. withirespect to the truck struc- V tunepropien; tortaike care of thebuffingend.

draft shocksimservice;

Ainotherobject .ofthe invention is to'provide a; canz'construction wherein the super structuneiforms aisepairateunit. from the underframeproper of the cer'and' is movably carried thereby and cushioned with respect to theeunderframez proper to take care or" =v butfing an'dt'draft; shocks. I

A more'sp'ecifict object: as the' invent-ion is toiprovi'dea-railwaycanconstruction including an" underfi'ame structure comprising" truck members and longitudinally disposed T draft sills fixed: thereto having shock-v absoring means cooperating-therewith and e'super structure including:longitudinally: disposed sills and: body; bolsters, wherein the. 'superstructure ismovalole lengthwise of the under-- frame structure: and: independent: shock absorh ngfi means is provided; reacting; between the1s1lls'of1the under-frame structure and the sills off the x'superstructure to take care of butting? and; draft? shocks.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide? al railway car construction of i the chmcter? described in the preceding pars? grep h'zw'herein ithe superstructure: issupp orted- Tom the uuderfrsniestructure by pendu lumutcting linkzmembers.

Other ob ects of the invention willmore clearly appear from the description and claims-hereinafter following:

In: the drawings; formingsan part of? this specification, Figure liis'azatop plarrview of" the imclerframe structure and the super structure of a railway cerembodying-my ima provements=- Figure'Qisa longitudinal, VBI' ticalgw sections-l VldW correspo'nding'substam- 'tially to the line 2--2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a transverseu vertical sectional View corresponding;substantiallyto the line; 3-3 of Figure 2: Figure A i-is.- a transverse, vertical, sectional view;; partly broken away; correspending substantially to: the line of 1929: seriel No.- aeegszp Figure 2,2nd Figure =5 isszhorizontal, longi corresponding; sub? tudinal," section'ala View stentially-to: the 5 line? 5-'-5- of Figure 2'.

' said"drawings10-l0indicates the side sills ofis canandrllthe-endisills; 'Ilhe'body therewith are? indicated by 13 bearing portion l5Ihavingra'center pinxop'ening 16'.

In carrying out n'iy invention, .Iprovideav .pairof longitudinally extending; draft sills 17I'17 which are operatively-connected to H; MINER; 1110,; or: cnlcneo,

thetruck holsters; The'draft -sills'1717- are continuous andiext'endzfromiend toiend of the our;- beingof such? a length. as towproject beyond the endl'sillsi11,las:most clearly shown I sills 1 are of ch'zrnnel shaped section and have a i-striking portion 18 formed thereon at eafch end-ofthe car." Each striking member l8 includes in Figures 2 and, 5; The

a'carry iron portion l9orrwhic'h thefcouplershank of the couplen H atithe corresponding end of the car is supported; Ateaoh:truck= bolster; e filler castingl20 isrdisposed between the sills 1'27 andfis securedftheretm The filler castings 20 are 'provided with' center pin:receiving i'openings which are" alined with the center pin 5 openings =16 of the truckbolsters; l3. The' filler castingsQO inaybersecuredto' thesills' 17 in anysuitablemanner:undzzrre preferably riveted thereto; At each casting 20, thersills: are'providediwithitop end bottom tie platesQle-Ql which span the castingaand overlap" theflanges at the top and bottom sides ofithe sills. These'v-tie" plates may be secured to 'both the sills and thecast'ings 20 in; any suitable inaunmna Athth'e opposite endsEof-the car, the sills 17 'are-providediwith' trwnsvers'el yialined co'upler' key receiving";

slots -22-i-'22;wliich are reinforced by suiteble cheek plates members-v heavinga, reinforced: flanges extending. into" the slots; As IfIOSl3'-" 'cle arly shown in Figure 5, each :che'ek plate 22 i has transverse, vertical stop shoulden 23 at the inner end thereof, the stop shoulders of each pair of cheek plates forming front stop lugs for the shock absorbing mechanism by which the corresponding coupler is operatively connected to the sills 17. At each end of the car inwardly of the stop lugs 23, the sills 17 are provided with a pair of stop castings 24 which are secured to the webs of the sills by rivets as shown. The castings 24 are preferably of such a length that they bear directly at their inner ends on the outer side of the corresponding filler casting 20. The front end portions of the casting 24 present transverse rear stops for the shock absorbing mechanism. At each end of the car inwardly of the corresponding casting 20, the sills 17 are provided with front and rear follower key receiving slots 26-26 for a purpose hereinafter pointed out.

The underframe structure thus far described is directly connected to the truck bolsters 13 so as to move with the same. At each filler casting 20 I provide a center bearing casting 27 which cooperates with the center bearing portion 15 of the corresponding truck bolster in the usual manner. The casting 27 is secured to the corresponding filler casting 20 in any suitable manner preferably by being riveted thereto.

Any well known type of shock absorbing mechanism may be interposed between the coupler ateach end of the car and the sills 17 and in the present instance a shock absorbing mechanism of the friction type is illustrated.

As shown, each coupler 14 has a yoke member 28 connected thereto, the yoke comprising the usual strap portion within which the shock absorbing mechanism is disposed. As

herein shown, the shock absorbing mechanism includes a friction shell 29 having friction shoes 30-30 and a wedge member 31 cooperating therewith. It will be understood that the arrangement of the friction shock absorbing mechanism is the usual one, in which spring resistance means is disposed within the casing 29 which opposes inward movement of the friction shoes and wedge. As shown, the inner end of the casing 29 cooperates directly with the rear stops 24 and a main follower 32 is interposed between the wedge and the stop lugs 23. The inner end of the corresponding coupler shank bears directly on the main follower 32 and the coupler shank is connected to the yoke by a transverse key 33 of the usual type extending through key slots 34-34'in the side walls of the hood of the yoke. r

The key 33 of each coupler has the opposite ends thereof working in the slots 22-22 at the corresponding ends of the sills 17. The shock absorbing mechanism ust described operates in the usual manner in absorbing the shocks in both bull and draft and reacts between the couplers and the underframe proper of the car which includes the sills 17 25-25 and and the truck bolsters which are fixed thereto.

The superstructure of the car which carries the main body of the same includes a pair of longitudinally disposed spaced sills 35-35 extending from end to end of the car and secured at their opposite ends to the end sills 11. The body bolsters 12 at the opposite ends of the car are also directly secured to the sills 35 as shown in Figures 4 and 5. The sills 35 are spaced such a distance apart as to receive the sills 17 slidably therebetween.

The sills 35 are movably connected to the sills 17 by supporting links 36-36 at each end of the car. Each link 36 has a pivotal connection with the corresponding castings 24 at the same end of the car, the castings 24 being provided with inwardly projecting cylindrical sleeve-like portions 37-37 and the upper ends of the arm of the link 36 being provided with a sleeve-like section through which a connecting pivot pin in the form 0 a relatively heavy stub shaft 38 extends. At the bottom each link is also provided with a sleeve-like section 39 which accommodates a pivot pin in the form of a shaft 40 having its opposite ends journaled, in cylindrical portions 41-41 formed on castings 42-42 sccured to the sills 35. As most clearly shown in Figure 3, the castings 42 are secured to the outer sides of the sills 35 and are slotted. adjacent their lower ends to accommodate the bottom flanges of the sills. As further shown in Figure 3, the bottom edges of the sills 17 are. disposed an appreciable distance above the cylindrical portions 41-41 of the castings 42 and the sleeve-like section 39 of the link 36. The pivot members 40 are held against endwise movement in any suitable manner and as herein shown are provided with cotter pins extending through the opposite ends thereof, washersbeinginterposedbetween the )ins and the outer sides of the castings 42. 1 s will be evident, the superstructure of the car including the sills 35, bolsters 12, side sills 10 and end sills 11 are supported for swinging movement on the underframe structure proper, the superstructure thus hav ing relative movement with respect to the underframe structure proper in a lengthwise direction.

At the opposite ends, the sills 35 are provided with alined slots 43-43 to accommodate the outer ends of the coupler keys 33. Inwardly of the body bolsters at each end of the car the sills 35 are provided with front and rear follower key receiving slots 44 and 45 which are normally in alinement with the corresponding follower key slots 25 and 26 of the sills 17.

The superstructure of the car is yieldingly supported on the underframe structure proper so as to take care of both bufiing and draft shocks. Any suitable cushioning or shock absorbing means may be employed for this nsea zsas keys48+48; The follower keys 48extend through the alined'hey receiving: slots 25 and 44211161526 and 45-of the sills l7 and 35 respectively. As shown,;the :key. receiving slots of the-sills 17 and 35 are of greater length than the width of theakeys so that the: keys, and the followers: mounted: thereon have: movement with respect to' the sills! In the normal position of the parts, the followers and-thelreys 48 .areheldlseparatedby the springs 46 with the front edge of the front follower key 48 engaging the front end walls of the slots and 44 and the rear edge of the rear follower 20 key 48 engaging the rear end walls of-the slots 26 and 45.

In the operation of my improved railway car structure, assuming that a buffing shock is applied to the coupler at the left hand end of the car as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 5, the shock absorbing mechanism 29 will be compressed between the follower 32 and the stops 24. Inasmuch as the trucksare connected to the sills '17, this shock absorbing means will absorb the major portion of the shock. The shocks transmitted to the sills 17 will also be transmitted to the front follower key 48 of the cushioning means immediately in back of the body bolster thereby compressing the spring 46 against the rear follower 47,the

key of which is held against rearward movement with respect to the sills 35 of the superstructure of the car. ment of the sills 17 will also compress the spring shock absorbing means 46at'the other end of the car between the corresponding front and rear followers which cooperate with the follower keys 48 of the sills 17 and 35. As will be evident, the superstructure i and the body of the car will thus be cushioned against shocks independently of the shock ab sorbing means cooperating with the coupler. Due to the compression of the spring shock absorbing means comprising the spring members 46, there will be relative movement be tween the sills 17 and the sills 35 lengthwise of the car. This movement is accommodated by the connecting links 36 which act in the manner of pendulum members to support the superstructure of the car. As will be evident, in addition to the tendency of the sprin s 46 to return the superstructure of the car to normal position with respect to the underframe structure proper, the weight of the car body and the superstructure acting on the pendulum links aids in this returning movement.

Ina draft action, the operation is similar to that just described but the action of the parts will be reversed, that is the coupler will pull the yoke outwardly, compressing the The rearward movefriction shock: absorbingimeanss against-the main follower 32 which reactsragainsttheistop lugs: 23 and the sills: 17, 1' therebytending: to pull the latter. outwardly also and compress= ingthe springs 46 :at bothends-of thecar be tween the followers-47 whiclnare connected to'the sills '17 and 35 by'the:keys;48. v

As will be evident, my" improved cartoonstruction provides 'a :ruggedibackbone 'for' the: car in that the same; is provided'with'longitudinallyextending spaced sillsa which are fixed with respect to the superstructure: and the principal load ofithe" buflingi and draft shocks is carried by thezdraft:sills'whichiare movable with: respect to the superstructure sills and are secured to; the truckf'structureofi the car; Itis further pointed out that by the:

arrangement cfseparate and independent! draftsills thev entire superstructure of the car; and especially thelongitudinally extend ing" sills thereof are relievedof'. compression strains which would tend to. distort and bend the'framing of the car;

I have herein shown and ClQSCllbBfl'lWhiLlJ I.

now considerthe preferredmanner of car fixed to the superstructure ofi thea carandr forming the entiresupport: forisaid super structure, sard;s1llsa extending? from: end nth' named sills being: relatively movable?v with" respectztoea'ch othenlengthwiseofthe can; means engaging with said first" and a second named sills only r for 'supporting:said" second named V sills onis'aid first named: sills;v and cushioning. meansopposing movement of:

the'relatively movable sills.

2IIn carronstruction, the combination with sills 'extendinglengthwise of'the'car and supported and Excel to" the trucl structure ofthe car, said--sills liav-ing coupler meansconnected thereto; of additional sillfixed to the superstructure of the car and I form ing the entire su'pportfor the same,-said la st' named sills extending from endt'o end of the car and having movement lengthwise with 'respectto said first -named sills and being supported on the latter; and. cushioning, means: opposing relative movement. of said first namedand additionalsillst-i i 3. In car construction, the-combination with'the underframe structure of a-car; of a si'iperstructure carryingthe car-bodyproper; and pendulum linh 'means 'for movablye sus eildiO'fi the car, said first named" and second- 9 pending the superstructure on the underframe structure.

4. In car construction, the combination with underframe structure of a car; of a superstructure carrying the car body proper; pendulum link means for movably suspendmg the superstructure on the underframe structure; and means yieldingly opposing relative movement of the underframe structure and the superstructure.

5. In a railway car, the combination with draft sills extending lengthwise of the car; of coupler means at opposite ends of the car; shock absorbing means interposed between the coupler means and draft sills; a superstructure; and swinging links for movably supporting the superstructure on the draft sills.

6. In a railway car, the combination with draft sills extending lengthwise of the car; of coupler means at opposite ends of the car; shock absorbing means reacting between the coupler means and the draft sills; a superstructure; pivoted links for movably supporting the superstructure on the draft sills; and means for yieldingly opposing relative movement of the superstructure and sills.

7. In a railway car, the combination with draft sills extending lengthwise of the car; of coupler means at opposite ends of the car; shock absorbing means reacting between the coupler means and draft sills; a superstructure; and means anchored to the superstructure and draft sills for swingingly suspending the superstructure from the draft sills.

8. In a railway car, the combination with draft sills extending lengthwise of the car; of coupler means at opposite ends of the car; shock absorbing means reacting between the coupler means and draft sills; a superstructure including longitudinally extending sills and body bolsters secured thereto; links for swingingly supportingthc last named sills from the draft sills; and cushioning means opposing relative movement of the draft sills and the sills of the superstructure.

9. In a railway car, the combination with longitudinally disposed, spaced draft sills secured to the car trucks; of coupler means at opposite ends of the car; shock absorbing means reacting between the coupler means and draft sills; a superstructure including longitudinally disposed sills and body bolsters fixed thereto; means for swingingly supporting the sills of the superstructure on the draft sills; inner and outer stop means on the draft sills; inner and outer stop means on thesills of the superstructure; inner and outer follower means cooperating with the stop means of said sills; and shock absorbing means interposed between the inner and outer followers.

10. In a railwa car, the combination with longitudinally disposed spaced draft sills supported on and fixed with respect to the car trucks; of coupler means at opposite ends of the car operatively connected to the draft sills; a superstructure including longitudinally disposed sills and body bolsters secured thereto, said last named sills being supported on the draft sills, said draft sills and sills of the superstructure having front and rear alined key openings at each end of the car; front and rear follower keys extending through said openings; and shock absorbmg means inter osed between said front and rear follower eys.

In witness that I claim the foregoin I have hereunto subscribed my name this 2%th day of May, 1929.

JOHN F. OCONNOR. 

